Health minister ‘surprised’ at fertility clinic’s policy

Jessica Barrett, Calgary Herald07.28.2014

An embryologist at work in the Regional Fertility Program lab in Calgary. The clinic, which has operated since the 1980s, says that contrary to reports in the Herald, it changed a controversial policy against creating “rainbow families” a year ago.

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Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne says the former policy of a Calgary fertility clinic to restrict patients to using sperm donors of their same racial background highlights the need for clear ethical guidelines as the province moves toward funding invitro fertilization.

“This is a really good example of how when we look at this, these kinds of issues, it’s about a lot more than the money to fund the service,” he said Tuesday.

Horne added he was “surprised” to learn of the policy, which Calgary’s Regional Fertility Program, a private clinic, claims had been in place up to last year.

“I don’t agree with it, I don’t think it’s in keeping with the values of Albertans or society generally,” Horne said.

The minister said the province is now going through the assessment process to determine eligibility criteria for publicly funded fertility treatments, which would likely hinge on the basis of patients’ medical suitability and the number of embryos to be implanted and the number of cycles to be covered.

“There’s some ethical issues that have to be considered and ethical questions that have to be answered,” he said.

However he stopped short of saying individual physicians should be compelled to provide fertility treatment, even if they disagree with the choice of donor, as was the case at the Regional Fertility Program, Calgary’s only fertility clinic. He said the conduct of individual physicians is regulated by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta.

The College has previously told the Herald that physicians have the right to withhold any non-emergency treatment due to moral or ethical objections as long as they refer patients to doctors who will provide the services they seek.

Horne’s comments came the day after the Regional Fertility Program released a statement claiming it had cancelled its controversial policy last year and distanced itself from controversial comments made by its administrative director, Dr. Calvin Greene.

The clinic became the subject of international headlines after an exclusive report by the Herald last week revealed a patient at the clinic seeking invitro fertilization was told she could not use sperm donors who were not Caucasian.

Catherine, who asked to be referred to by her first name only, said she was informed of the policy in March 2013 during routine consultations for IVF. Greene, who was not her doctor, responded to the Herald’s request for comment and confirmed the policy existed in two separate interviews.

“I’m not sure that we should be creating rainbow families just because some single woman decides that that’s what she wants,” he said. “That’s her prerogative, but that’s not her prerogative in our clinic.”

He also referred the Herald to the clinic’s website that stated: “It is the practice of the Regional Fertility Program not to permit the use of a sperm donor that would result in a future child appearing racially different than the recipient or the recipient’s partner.”

The statement has since been removed.

In a release, the clinic’s spokeswoman Paula Arab said the Regional Fertility Program had failed to update its website sooner due to an “oversight.”

“Since changing our policy last year, the clinic has treated numerous patients who have requested donors of different ethnicity.”

Arab said Tuesday the clinic changed the policy during a meeting on May 28, 2013. She could not explain why Greene, who was present at the meeting, seemed unaware of the policy change in the interview with the Herald, and cited privacy concerns for not being able to provide contact information or statements from patients who had received treatment using donors of a different racial background.

She also said that Greene, one of Canada’s leading fertility specialists, was not representing the clinic when he told the Herald the clinic’s policy mandating a “cultural connection” between patients and their potential children had been in place since the 1980s.

Greene’s comments “represent his own opinions and do not reflect policies at the clinic,” according to the release.

Arab said Tuesday she could not explain why Greene responded to the Herald’s request for comment from a representative from the clinic.

Greene has frequently acted as the clinic’s spokesman in previous interviews, and was interviewed for a feature on fertility treatment that ran in the Edmonton Journal last weekend. A full transcript of the Herald’s interview with Greene and the clinic’s statement can be seen here.

Meanwhile, Alberta Liberal Party leader Raj Sherman said the case emphasizes the need for public funding of invitro fertilization.

“You can’t have these private companies, because of their personal policies, being forced onto Albertans. That’s the issue with this clinic,” he said.

“It’s the government’s job to be the referee, government’s job is to pass the legislation and set the regulations and the rules. And the rules must be made in conjunction with the leaders of the medical community who do the work.”

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